A Spokesperson Goes Off Track

Remember to Keep an Ear to the Rail

Brands have several options when it comes to gaining endorsements. Among them are experts, celebrities, and people with actual success stories. In the pharmaceutical industry, the last example would be happy, grateful patients. Patient spokespersons have proven effective in communicating key messages authentically.

But not always. In "A Celebrity Patient's Backing Turns Sour for Drug Company," by Shirley S. Wang in The Wall Street Journal, we learn about Andy Behrman and his relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Behrman is a well-known figure; he chronicled his life with bipolar disorder in "Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania," published in 2002. Reports indicate that BMS paid him $400,000 in 2004 and 2005 to discuss the benefits of their blockbuster drug, Abilify(R). Mr. Behrman appeared in videos, at BMS events, and in various media interviews, sharing how Abilify was life-changing and had no side effects.

Now we hear from Mr. Behrman, whose non-disclosure agreement has lapsed, that what was reported wasn't true. He stated that he experienced side effects worse than any treatment he had tried and stopped taking Abilify within the first year.

Working with endorsers can be tricky, but BMS reportedly said that every collaboration, except for this one, has been positive. Indeed, the first celebrity campaign—for the arthritis drug Voltaren(R)—gave CIBA-Geigy (now part of Novartis) quite a pain in the late 1980s. Baseball legend Mickey Mantle, who wasn't taking Voltaren and didn't disclose the corporate relationship, went about as far off message as one can go by claiming the drug can cure hangovers!

The WSJ article provides insights on how to minimize the chances of being surprised and disappointed by a patient spokesperson. Here are some principles to consider:

• Don't talk in absolutes. When he switched to Abilify, Mr. Behrman said that all of his drug side effects "went away." This assertion was made repeatedly and never should have been sanctioned by BMS and its PR firm. While Abilify may have a better safety profile than some other atypical antipsychotics, it carries a long list of side effects and warnings on its label.

• Ensure authenticity. The BMS contract didn't require Mr. Behrman to take Abilify yet there he was talking up the benefits.

• Conduct due diligence. Mr. Behrman signed a waiver allowing his doctor to share his medical records but BMS never checked them.

• Communicate good news and bad. Although Mr. Behrman said he was in almost constant contact with BMS and its PR firm, the bad news that he was, in fact, experiencing some side effects and stopped taking the medication was either ignored and/or never brought to a higher level.

• Be prepared to jump the rails. It's hard to pull the plug on a program, an investment, but that's what we must do when things go dangerously off track.

Staying the course may damage BMS's reputation, and Mr. Behrman's reversal might raise questions about his motives. His website includes a link to The Daily News gossip column, Side Dish, from November 19, 2008, which stated that Brad Pitt and Matt Damon might be interested in his new book, Adventures in the Drug Trade: I Was a Big Pharma Pusher. So, is Andy Behrman an honest whistle-blower or a calculating opportunist? Has he been overtaken by his illness again? These are questions we might not ask if more thought, care, and scrutiny had gone into the communications planning and review process.